Ioan Gruffudd is set to make a return to our screens in a bizarre new US show that’s been dubbed ‘Highlander meets Quincy’.

The genre-splicing fantasy, which merges elements of long-running immortals drama Highlander with US medical show Quincy, will initially go out on the ABC network in the States.

It is called Forever and sees the Llwydcoed-born Hollywood actor take on the lead role of Dr Henry Morgan, an New York City medical examiner.

However, what sets the premise apart from most medical dramas is that Gruffudd’s character is actually hiding a shocking secret – he’s immortal.

The high-profile part should come as a much needed boost to the Cynon Valley heartthrob after he was unceremoniously dumped from the big budget Fantastic Four franchise when it as announced the veteran Marvel comic book heroes were due to get a cinematic make-over in 2015.

Gruffudd, 40, who played Dr Reed ‘Mr Fantastic’ Richards in both the original 2005 film and its 2007 sequel, was ousted to make way for a relative unknown, 27-year-old Project X actor Miles Teller.

It is something the Aberdare star recently touched upon when he went on the record to talk candidly about his struggle to find good roles in the industry, confessing that he’d even started seeing a psychologist to help him cope with increasing rejection at auditions.

“I’m going for for dozens of parts at the moment, but I’m just not getting them,” said the LA-based dad-of-two, who shot to fame in in the late ‘90s in ITV’s Napoleonic romp Hornblower,

“I can’t play someone who’s 30 anymore... maybe 35 at a push.

“As a result my confidence has really taken a knock, so I’ve been working with a psychologist to help me overcome all that, in order to make me feel more at ease in those situations and like I really don’t care what happens.”

“Because the last thing you want to do is come across as desperate.”

And fans of the Welshman, last seen singing and dancing in the hit teen musical Glee, took to the online chat forums to express their delight that he is finally returning to the spotlight.

“This is the first new show that has captured my interest by being a bit different to the same old rehashes of older shows like Hawaii 5-0,” writes ellie j, while KansasGuest adds, “I’m just glad Ioan’s on a show that will use his considerable talent. Glee just doesn’t show him enough.”

Another fan of the Welsh actor, called Lisa posted: “Awesome! I think this sounds really interesting and I adore Gruffudd.

“I hope they let him use his natural accent... he does a good American, but I’d rather hear that hint of Welsh!”

However, celebration might prove a little premature as the show is still only in the pilot stage, meaning that a full series will only get commissioned if the debut broadcast is a success.

And, as some viewers have already pointed out, the plot of Forever bears a uncanny resemblance to another cult show from 2008 which unfortunately ended up being cancelled after only eight episodes.

Entitled New Amsterdam, it told the tale of an immortal Dutch man who, after centuries, becomes a homicide detective in the Big Apple.

And the similarities don’t end there, the creators of New Amsterdam having come under fire from a journalist-turned-bestselling author called Peter Hamill, who claimed they’d plagiarised huge chunks from his 2002 novel, confusingly also named Forever.

And, while it’s unclear whether or not Gruffudd’s new show is a direct adaptation of Hamill’s writing, US TV critic Blair Marnell thinks the sense of deja vu is indicative of the general sad state of the entertainment industry across the pond.

“It’s like a snake that’s constantly eating its own tail,” he says.

“Hamill’s book followed Cormac O’Connor, a man from the 18th century who can never die, as long as he never leaves Manhattan – and ABC’s Forever comes eerily close to that.

“That said, it’s not like Hamill invented the idea of immortality in the first place – so who knows.”